Minnesota vs St. Louis Prediction 8 January 2025

🔊 Will the "Wild" remain among the leaders of the West? Minnesota has once again gained excellent momentum and not only maintained its position in the Western Conference playoff zone but also created a minimal margin of safety. Now the club must develop its tournament position. St. Louis, on the other hand, cannot make a decisive move to secure a spot in the playoff eight.

📊 Head-to-head

In the current regular season, the opponents have met twice, and in both cases, the "Wild" confidently prevailed (4:1, 4:2). The biggest contribution to his team's success was made by forward Kirill Kaprizov. The Russian recorded two goals and the same number of assists. However, this time the forward will not be able to help his teammates due to an injury. It is also worth noting that one of the goals was scored by the current home team's goaltender Filip Gustavsson.

🟢 Minnesota

The "Wild" lost their leader Kirill Kaprizov but did not notice this at all and continue to earn regular points. In the last five matches, John Hynes' team secured four victories, with only one slip-up against Ottawa (1:3). In all other cases, the team demonstrated extremely confident play and was convincing in its actions on the ice. The absence of the main sniper is compensated by quality team play. That is why Minnesota is among the leaders of the West.

🔵 St. Louis

The "Bluesmen" cannot find themselves. First, numerous summer changes in the lineup did not lead to positive results. Then, a coaching change had no significant effect. The team remains outside the playoff zone in the West and continues to regularly lose points. Jim Montgomery's team lost twice in the last four matches and cannot break into the playoff eight. The club from Missouri suffers from numerous defensive errors and weaknesses at the last line. Right now, it does not look like a contender for a Stanley Cup spot.

📌 Projected lineups

Minnesota: Gustavsson - Brodin, Faber - Boldy, Rossi, Zuccarello

St. Louis: Binnington - Suter, Parayko - Saad, Thomas, Buchnevich

🥅 Goalies

Minnesota's goaltender Filip Gustavsson has proven extremely important for his team. Without the Swede, the "Wild's" defense was literally falling apart, but with him, it quickly transformed into a real fortress. It turned out that the Swede's influence is much greater than even Kirill Kaprizov's. This only highlights the undeniable talent of the hockey player.

St. Louis' goaltender Jordan Binnington cannot boast stability this season. The Canadian has been experiencing periodic slumps since the start of the regular season and sometimes seems like a mere shadow of his former self. Rumor has it that the "Bluesmen's" management is already looking for options to strengthen the goaltending position.

📝 Editorial prediction

Most of the recent home matches have not been characterized by high scoring. The "Wild" are deliberately focusing on defensive actions and prefer matches with minimal attacking activity. This may be related to the absence of their main scorer due to injury. The "Bluesmen" fit well into this trend. Our key bet is total under 2.5 goals in the 2nd period.